Grain separator catch and return device



' March 9, 1943. H. L. JOHNSON GRAIN SEP ARATOR CATCH AND RETURN DEVICE Filed Jan 2, 1941 Patented Mar. 9, 1943 GRAIN SE PARATOR CATCH AND RETURN DEVICE.

Harry L. Johnson, Minneapolis, Minn.

Application January 2, 1941, Serial No. 372,875

11 Claims.

This invention relates generally to improvements in grain separators and more specifically to a device for collecting and returning a part of the grain for a further or repeat separation in the machine.

My present invention is employed in a grain separator of the type shown in my United States Patent No. 2,135,343 issued to me November 1, 1938, wherein the separator employs a rotating cylinder having indents on an inner surface so as to pick up particles of a grain body fed in at one end, elevate such particles and finally deposit them in a delivery trough disposed longitudinally within the cylinder. The grain is progressed in a continuous fiow through the cylinder from the inlet end to the discharge end in such manner that all particles come in contact with the indented surface and all rejected particles are finally delivered from the discharge end of the cylinder.

In the operation of this machine, for instance in separating wheat and oats, it is found that as the mixture progresses toward and approaches the discharge end of the cylinder the greater part of the wheat has been already separated out by contact with the indented surface of the cylinder. As a result the short or small oats, which ordinarily would be prevented from entrance into the indents by the relatively large quantity and number of wheat grains, will enter the indents near the discharge end of the cylinder and will be carried upwardly therebyand discharged into the delivery trough. The mixture of these short oats with the wheat in the trough is, of course, very undesirable, but at the same time it is neither economical nor practical to lose the wheat remaining in the mixture near the delivery end of the cylinder simply by delivering this mixture out entirely without any efiort to finally separate it into its component parts.

Having these facts in mind it is the primary object of my present invention to provide a means whereby the short oats and wheat carried upward by the indents near the discharge end of the cylinder may be separately collected and conveyed back toward the inlet end and there commingled with the incoming material, whereupon the wheat in such returned material may be separated out without difficulty from the short oats due to the fact that'a larger bulk of material, with a larger percentage of wheat, is handled at this end of the cylinder. The short cats will all in time work their way out the discharge end of the cylinder, thus resulting in a clean and complete separation of both the wheat and oats.

Another object is to provide a device for this purpose which may be readily assembled and mounted within the separator cylinder with the conveyor driven directlyby the cylinder. Still another object is to provide means whereby the return or repeat device may be rendered inoperative when so desired, as when separating materials which do not require its use.

These and other more detailed and specific objects will be disclosed in the course of the following specification, reference being had to the accompanying drawing, in which Fig. l is an end View of a separator embodying my invention and with certain parts broken away to disclose interior construction.

Fig. 2 is a longitudinal vertical section through the separator of Fig. 1, again with parts broken away to better show the construction.

Fig. 3 is an enlarged'cross section along the line 33 in Fig. 2.

Referringnow more particularly and by reference characters to the drawing, A represents a separating cylinder rotatably supported and mounted in an outer casing B having an inlet or feed hopper '5 in the rear end 6 through which the grain or material to be separated is entered into the rear end of the cylinder. The cylinder A has a profusion of pockets or indents '1 in its inner surface and, as the cylinder rotates under the mass or body of the material, these indents pick up the particles of a certain size and elevate them until they may fall into the delivery trough 8 supported longitudinally within the cylinder. The material not thus separated out is progressed toward the frontal discharge end of the cylinder where it emerges through a spout 9, this progression being carried out by contact of the material with angularly set fiights I I! carried by the trough 8 as has been described in detail in my hereinbefore identified patent.

The material falling intothe delivery trough 8 is carried forwardly therein b-ya spiral screw conveyor II and is discharged from the open, tubular forward end l2 of the trough.

As heretofore stated difficulty has been expe rienced in the operation of my machine, as thus far described, in the separation of wheat and oats due to the fact that the short oats have a tendency to slip into the indents 7 near thedischarge end of the cylinder A and be carried thereby upwardly and discharged into the delivery trough 8. In accordance with my present invention I provide a short catch trough l3 which is supported longitudinally withinthe frontal end portion of the delivery trough 8. The material separated out and elevated by rotation ofthe cylinder A falls over the receiving edge Ill of-troug'h 8 and the catch trough is accordingly located immediately adjacent and within this edge as clearly.

shown, said trough l3 in facthaving aledge or lip l5 which overlies the edge Hi to prevent material from falling downwardly between the troughs. At its rear end, and continuing throughout the length of trough 8, the catch trough I3 has a tubular extension or return duct I6 which extends rearwardly through the rear end of the trough 8 almost to the receiving end of cylinder A. This extension I6 at its lower portion is flush with the correspondingly rounded bottom I1 of the trough I3 and said extension, being closed on its upper side as well as spaced accumulated grain in the extension I6 may run out through this slot I6b as will be understood to thus complete the cleaning of all parts.

In some circumstances it may be desired to dispense with the return of the material from the catch trough I3 clear back to the rear end of the cylinder A, and I have accordingly provided a byinwardly from the receiving edge I4 of the delivery trough, will in no wise interfere with the dropping of separated materials into that trough.

A spiral or screw type conveyor I8 is. extended lengthwise through both the catch trough I3 and its tubular extension and at the rear end the shaft I9 of this conveyor is journaled in a selfaligning bearing pivotally supported at 2I on the trough 8. At its forward end the shaft I9 is journaled through the end 22 of the catch trough and through a bearing 23 which is carried in an arm 24 pivotally mounted at 25 on the forward end of the trough 8. One end of the arm 24 extends over the tubular discharge end I2 of the delivery trough and an expansion coil spring 26 is braced between this member I2 and the arm to normally oscillate the latter about its pivot 25 and urge the forward end of the trough I3 and the conveyor upwardly. The extremity of the shaft I9, forwardly of the bearing 23, carries a rigidly afiixed friction roller 2! which, by the aforesaid spring pressed upward movement, is urged into driving contact with the inner surface of the cylinder A as clearly shown.

In operation the mixture of wheat and short oats picked up by the indents I near the delivery or discharge end of the cylinder A now is deposited into the catch trough I3. The conveyor I8 is rotated by the driving action of the rotating cylinder on the roller 21 and the material is thus fed from the catch trough I3 rearwardly through the tubular extension or duct I6 and discharged from the rear end thereof into the mass of incoming materials entering through the hopper 5. In this manner the wheat thus carried back or repeated may in time be separated out while the short oats will in time make their way out through the spout 9 along with the rest of the oats or material rejected by the indents I.

In practice the delivery trough 8 is oscillated about the axis of the conveyor I I for adjustment purposes, and for tilting it to clean out any accumulated material as described in detail in my aforesaid prior patent. Such adjustment will in no way interfere with the action of the catch trough I3 and drive of the return conveyor I8 as will be apparent since the conveyor 8 is ordinarily coaxial with the cylindier A and the spring or floating mounting of the front bearing 23 and pivoted mounting of the rear bearing 20 will compensate for any minor misalignments.

When the machine is used for the separation of different kinds of grain it is of course necessaryto clean out all accumulated material in the various troughs as each change is made. The aforesaid tilting of the trough 8, about its longitudinal axis and in the direction of the arrow in Fig. 1, will permit all material remaining in either trough 8 or I 3 to be poured out as will be evident. In order, however, to clear out the extension I6 I provide a longitudinally extending lateral, V- shaped (in cross section) projection as shown at Ifia and on a lower inclined side thereof a longitudinal slot Ifib which is protected from grain falling from cylinder A and is located far enough above the bottom of the extension to have no effect on, e ray l. o h e ain u nin herethrough. However, as the troughs are tilted any .pass or return opening 28 in the underside of the duct I6 immediately at the rear end of the trough I3 and a slide valve 29 is arranged thereover in guides 30. By means of a forwardly extending rod 3| and handle 32 this valve 29 may be opened or closed to any desired amount and when opened the material will of course fall immediately back into the cylinder.

It is understood that suitable modifications may be made in the. structure as disclosed, provided such modifications come within the spirit and scope of the appended claims. Having now therefore fully illustrated and described my invention, what I claim to be new and desire to protect by Letters Patent is:

1. In a separating machine, a rotatable cylinder adapted for receiving material at one end,

discharging part of said material at the other end, and elevating a portion of th material by its rotary movement, a delivery trough supported longitudinally in said cylinder substantially from end to end thereof and to receive material elevated thereby, a catch trough shorter than said delivery trough and supported adjacent the discharge end of the cylinder to receive a part of the elevated material, the said catch trough having a tubular member extending toward and through the other end of the delivery trough, and a rotary conveyor extending through the catch trough and said tubular member for returning the material collected in the catch trough to the receiving end of the cylinder.

2. In a separating machine, a rotatable cylinder adapted for receiving material at one end, discharging part of said material at the other end, and elevating a portion of the material by its rotary movement, a delivery trough supported longitudinally in said cylinder to receive a part of the material elevated by the cylinder, a catch trough supported along the receiving side of the delivery trough adjacent the discharge end of the cylinder for receiving a part of the elevated material, a tubular member extending from the catch trough toward the receiving end of the cylinder, a spiral conveyor supported in and through the catch trough and said tubular member, and a roller on one end of the conveyor having driving contact with the cylinder to thereby rotate the conveyor and return elevated material collected in the catch trough through the tubular member to the receiving end of the cylinder.

3. In a separating machine, a rotatable cylinder adapted for receiving material at one end, discharging part of said material at the other end, and elevating a portion of the material by its rotary movement, a delivery trough supported longitudinally in said cylinder to receive a part of the material elevated by the cylinder, a catch trough supported within the receiving side of the delivery trough adjacent the discharge end of the cylinder for receiving a part of the elevated material, a tubular member extending from the catch trough toward the receiving end of the cylinder, a spiral conveyor extending through the catch trough and tubular member and rotatably and pivotally supported at one end.- for movement at its other end toward and away from the inner surface of the cylinder, a roller on said. other end of the conveyor, and means for yieldably urging said roller into driving contact with the inner surface of the cylinder to thereby rotate the conveyor and return material from the catch trough through the said tubular member to the cylinder.

4. In a separating machine, a rotatable cylinder adapted for receiving material through a rear end, discharging part of such material through a forward end, and elevating part of the material by its rotary movement, a delivery trough supported longitudinally within the cylinder for receiving part of such elevated material, a catch trough supported at the forward end portion of the delivery trough for receiving another part of the elevated material, the said catch trough having a tubular extension supported at its rear end through the rear end of the delivery trough, a rotary conveyor mounted 4 through the catch trough and its tubular extension for conveying materials from the catch trough into the rear end of the cylinder, an arm adjustably supported on the delivery trough and rotatably supporting the forward end of the conveyor, a roller on said forward end, and spring means for adjusting the arm to urge the roller into driving contact with the inner surface of the cylinder.

5. In a separating machine, a rotatable cylinder adapted for receiving material through a rear end, discharging part of such material through a forward end, and elevating part of the material by its rotary movement, a delivery trough supported longitudinally within the cylinder for receiving part of such elevated material, a catch trough supported at the forward end portion of the delivery trough for receiving another part of the elevated material, a tubular member extending rearwardly from said catch trough, means for conveying materials from the catch trough rearwardly through the tubular member for return to the cylinder near its rear end, the said tubular member having a bottom aperture adjacent the catch trough, and means for adjustably opening and closing the said aperture.

6. In a separating machine, a rotatable pocketed cylinder, a delivery trough supported longitudinally within said cylinder to receive material elevated by rotation thereof, a catch trough supported on said delivery trough for receiving and separately collecting a part of such elevated material, means for tilting said troughs about a longitudinal axis for dumping their contents, a duct member extending longitudinally from the catch trough for returning materials therefrom to the cylinder, and the said duct member having a longitudinal slot adapted to dump materials from the interior of the member as the troughs are tilted.

'7. In a separating machine, a rotatable pocketed cylinder, a delivery trough supported longitudinally within said cylinder to receive material elevated by rotation thereof, a catch trough supported on said delivery trough for receiving and separately collecting a part of such elevated material, means for tilting said troughs about a longitudinal axis for dumping their contents, a duct member extending longitudinally from the catch trough for returning materials therefrom to the cylinder, a conveyor for moving materials from the catch trough along the bottom of the duct member and discharging such materials in the cylinder, and the said duct member having a longitudinally extending slot in one side adapted to discharge materials laterally in response to said tilting movements of the troughs, the said slot being in an underside of the duct member but spaced above the bottom thereof.

8. In a separating mechanism including a rotatable cylinder adapted to receive material at one end and discharge part of such material at the other end, a delivery trough supported in the cylinder to receive material elevated by rotation of the cylinder, a relatively shorter catch trough arranged in the delivery trough and adapted to separately catch and collect material elevated near the discharge end of the cylinder, and a member forming an extension of the catch trough and adapted to return material therefrom toward the receiving end of the cylinder, said extension member :being located in the delivery trough and enclosed on its upper side to divert material falling thereon into said delivery trough.

9. In a separating machine, a rotatable pocketed cylinder, a delivery trough supported lengthwise in the cylinder for receiving material elevated by rotation thereof, said trough being tiltable about a longitudinal axis, a catch trough supported in the delivery trough to separately collect a part of the elevated materials, an extension member on said catch trough for returning materials therefrom to the cylinder, said extension member having a rounded bottom, and said bottom having an opening adapted to discharge materials from. the extension member in response to tilting movement of the troughs.

10. In a separating machine, a rotatable cylinder adapted for receiving material through a rear end, discharging part of such material through a forward end, and elevating part of the material by its rotary movement, a delivery trough supported longitudinally within the cylinder for receiving part of such elevated material, a catch trough supported at the forward end portion of the delivery trough for receiving another part of the elevated material, a member extending rearwardly from the catch trough for returning material therefrom to the cylinder adjacent its rear end, the said extension member having an opening in its bottom adjacent its junction with the catch trough, and a slidably mounted closure arranged over said opening to open and close the same.

11. In a separating mechanism including a rotatable cylinder adapted to receive unseparated material through one end and discharge a part of the material at its other end, a delivery trough supported lengthwiseinside the cylinder to receive material elevated thereby, catch means operatively arranged to separately collect a part of the material elevated by the cylinder, means for conveying said separately collected material in the catch means toward the receiving end of the cylinder, and the said catch means having a discharge end disposed immediately over the point at which material enters the cylinder whereby said separately collected material will fall directly into the mass of unseparated material entering the cylinder.

HARRY L. JOHNSON. 

